GOP PICKS BURNS: Republicans in Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District selected businessman Tim Burns to run as their nominee in the May 18 special election to fill the late Rep. John Murtha's House seat last night. The Somerset Daily American reports: "Burns defeated retired Lt. Col. Bill Russell in an 85-46 vote. ... 'It was very exciting and very encouraging to see the support we had here,' he said. ... 'Voters will have a clear choice between a political insider or an outsider,' he said, 'a bureaucrat or a businessman.'" Russell blamed the state Republican Party for his loss, saying that his plans to run in a primary for the GOP's general election endorsement haven't changed.

Earlier this week, Democrats tapped former Murtha district director Mark Critz as their nominee and avoided a contested May primary when former state Treasurer Barbara Hafer withdrew from the race. Along with the special election in Hawaii's 1st Congressional District, which also takes place in late May, the Critz-Burns race could be a good preview into the fall campaign, and a sign of how deep into Democratic territory Republicans are really prepared to cut this November.

STEPPING BACK TO CONQUER: New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday that he's recusing himself from the state's investigation into Gov. David Paterson's possible abuses of power. The New York Daily News reports: "Just days after a Marist College poll revealed a sizable drop in his approval ratings, particularly among blacks, Cuomo 'removed' himself from the potentially explosive inquests. He appointed retired Court of Appeals Chief Justice Judith Kaye to run the probes. 'This is a legal determination as to what is the best way to conduct an investigation,' said Cuomo, who is all but certain to run for governor. Cuomo said he made the decision to appoint Kaye out of 'an abundance of caution' to avoid any possible conflicts, though he acknowledged the political prism through which the case is likely to be viewed. 'I understand the ferocity of politics of New York and I understand that it is incredibly important to all of us that the public have a 100% confidence that this investigation is being handled properly,' Cuomo said."

Cuomo's move is likely to be popular - a Quinnipiac survey released last week showed that New Yorkers, by a 61 percent to 25 percent margin, wanted Cuomo to appoint an independent counsel. GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio jabbed at Cuomo's decision in a statement, but only because it wasn't made sooner. "[I]t should not have required two weeks and a drop in the polls for Andrew Cuomo to recognize what he should have instinctively known from the beginning," Lazio said.

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: Morning Score recalls that Kaye was mentioned on a short list of names Paterson could have picked to fill Hillary Clinton's vacant Senate seat last year. In an alternate universe, she could have been Paterson's highest profile appointee, rather than the person who's investigating him.

TAPERING OFF? After a rapid-fire series of House retirements over the last few weeks -- Patrick Kennedy, Vern Ehlers, John Linder, Bill Delahunt, Eric Massa -- there were a total of zero this week, as of Friday morning. We wonder: is that a lull, or a sign that the playing field is finally settling into place?

PRIMARY WATCH -- KILPATRICK SUMMONED: Democratic Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, who represents Detroit in the House, has been called to testify before a grand jury along with one of her aides. The Free Press has more: "Kilpatrick, a Detroit Democrat and Michigan's only member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, revealed in a letter Wednesday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., that she had been subpoenaed. A day earlier, Andrea Bragg, a longtime member of her staff and a relative of the congresswoman's, also told Pelosi's office she had been called to testify. What's unknown -- and what Kilpatrick, her office and Bragg's family refused to discuss Thursday -- was the topic of the investigation driving the subpoenas."

Kilpatrick is the mother of disgraced former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who resigned his office last year amid a sex and corruption scandal. In 2008, the congresswoman narrowly held off a Democratic primary challenge while taking a weak, 39-percent plurality of her party's vote. This year, state Sen. Hansen Clark is hoping to steal the nomination from her in Michigan's Aug. 3 primary.

IS THE AIR CLEAR YET? Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias's Senate campaign ended the week in much the same way it started: with uncomfortable stories about the Giannoulias family bank. After trying to go on offense against Rep. Mark Kirk Thursday -- he accused the Republican of catering to "Wall Street cronies" while in Congress -- Giannoulias got slammed, first by a report that the FDIC may put his family's Broadway Bank up for sale, and then by news that an associate and longtime contributor was charged with bank fraud. http://bit.ly/9BHp9d and http://bit.ly/aMQ6JJ

Giannoulias said he felt "shock and disbelief" at the charges against Nick Giannis, and Kirk pounced on the news with a statement asking Giannoulias to refund all the money the businessman had ever donated to his campaigns: "The check-kiting scheme conducted by a top Giannoulias contributor and Broadway Bank client appears to be part of a disturbing pattern of reckless business relationships, questionable banking practices and potentially illegal activity ... Alexi Giannoulias should return the massive $119,800 in Giannis campaign contributions given Giannis was caught attempting to leave U.S. jurisdiction."

HURRY UP AND WAIT: Texas Senate hopeful Roger Williams, a Republican eyeing Kay Bailey Hutchison's office, told POLITICO Thursday he's expecting news from the senator about her future plans soon. "She told me she was going to resign after the primary, and I still believe her," he said. "I have been led to believe, second hand, third hand …. that I'm going to hear from her within the week." The former Bush-Cheney fundraiser also said that even if Hutchison reverses course, keeps her seat and decides to run for reelection, "I probably would run."

SECOND ACT: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, whose campaign for governor sputtered to an early halt last year, plans to launch a bid for lieutenant governor today, according to the Los Angeles Times. "Newsom has formed a fundraising committee, and the first checks were reported Thursday. He received $6,500 each from Mark and Susie Buell, owners of the Esprit clothing company and longtime backers. He also reported $4,950 from Peter Ragone, his former press secretary."

COMING MONDAY -- NO PREVIOUS ENGAGEMENT: Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland plans to join President Obama at an appearance in Ohio on Monday, when the president stops by the battleground state to talk about health care reform, CNN reports. Strickland's also due to receive fundraising support from Vice President Biden, who'll speak at an event for the governor's campaign Monday night.

THE BIG MAP -- with POLITICO's Tim Alberta:

SENATE:

CALIFORNIA: Despite a barrage of attacks on his ties to Sami Al-Arian and his record on the Middle East, former Rep. Tom Campbell is still the most competitive Republican candidate against Sen. Barbara Boxer, according to a new Daily Kos/Research 2000 survey. The poll shows Campbell trailing Boxer by four points, 43 percent to 47 percent, compared to a nine-point deficit for former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and a 10-point one for Assemblyman Chuck DeVore. Campbell is the only Republican who leads Boxer among independent voters. [Update: A previous version of this item reversed Fiorina and DeVore's numbers.]

COLORADO: Former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton is drawing national liberals' attention for comments she made at a GOP candidates forum on Tuesday, calling Social Security a "Ponzi scheme." The Colorado Democratic Party made a clip of the comments and they've circulated online and appeared on MSNBC's "The Ed Show." Norton has courted controversy with her emphatic rhetoric before; in January, Democrats assailed her for saying "the rights of terrorists are more important in this administration that the lives of American citizens."

LOUISIANA: Democrats believe Sen. David Vitter is the most vulnerable GOP incumbent in this cycle's target-poor environment, POLITICO's David Catanese reports. "Normally, in this current environment, it’s hard to move a Democrat’s numbers with an argument. This is not the case in Louisiana," James Carville said. "There’s a fundamental pullback from Vitter. They’re kind of shopping out there. They’re not crazy about this guy."

NEVADA: Yet another Republican joined the state's Senate race this week, as Assemblyman Chad Christensen announced he'd run for the GOP's nomination. Christensen serves as the minority whip in the lower chamber of Nevada's legislature.

NEW YORK: Former Rep. Joe DioGuardi plans to launch a campaign for the Republican nomination to take on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand next week, City Hall reports. Said the candidate: "It's a winnable race. We just need the right messenger and I'm the right messenger."

PENNSYLVANIA -- DEMS LOVE: Former Rep. Pat Toomey's campaign released a statement Thursday saying he would have voted against the Senate jobs bill, saying it "contains a net tax increase, does not eliminate earmarks, and employs badly designed tax incentives that will do little to create new jobs."

WISCONSIN -- RECRUITMENT WATCH: Former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson is headlining a fundraiser for the Wisconsin Republican Party in Washington D.C., on May 12.

HOUSE:

RI-01 -- EXIT INTERVIEW: Retiring Rep. Patrick Kennedy spoke with the Washington Post about his decision to retire from Congress, and described it as a "sabbatical" that doesn't preclude future campaigns for office. Perhaps most telling: "He will transfer his roughly $500,000 in campaign money to an interest-bearing account, which he says he might tap if he runs for the Senate someday."

MA-10: Ted Carr, an aide to Gov. Deval Patrick who worked in the Clinton administration, is reportedly considering a run for the seat being vacated by Rep. Bill Delahunt. Carr would join state Sen. Robert O'Leary and Norfolk County District Attorney William Keating in seeking the Democratic nomination.

NH-01: RNC Committeeman Sean Mahoney, who's viewed as a likely candidate for the House this year, will host a fundraiser for Indiana Rep. Mike Pence in New Hampshire next week. Pence is due to speak at the local GOP's Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner on March 19 before visiting Mahoney's home to meet with supporters.

NY-29: More than a week after Eric Massa announced he'd resign his seat in the House, Democrats have yet to put forward a standard-bearer for the highly competitive district. But Steuben County Democratic Chairman Shawn Hogan insisted Thursday that local Dems will be prepared when Gov. David Paterson calls a special election: "We are very confident we will have a qualified candidate and we intend to win it."

PA-07: Former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan, who's running for Congress as a Republican, has asked the Delaware County district attorney to investigate -- his own campaign? More specifically, Meehan's asking the DA's office to scrutinize the signatures on his nominating petitions, after the candidate's staff told him some appeared to be fraudulent. Democratic state Rep. Bryan Lentz's campaign was already looking into the validity of Meehan's signatures.

PA-08 AND VA-09: The abortion rights group NARAL announced its support for two Democratic House incumbents Thursday: Virginia Rep. Rick Boucher and Pennsylvania Rep. Patrick Murphy, both of whom are expected to face tough reelection battles in the fall.

GOVERNORS:

CALIFORNIA: Daily Kos's California poll shows eBay CEO Meg Whitman as the more formidable of the two Republican candidates for governor, by far. Whitman trails Democrat Jerry Brown by four points, 41 percent to 45 percent, compared with her primary rival, Steve Poizner, trailing Brown by 15. Kos speculates that Brown's lead could pick up once he engages more: "Brown has run the most invisible, stealth campaign, in state history. Seriously, the dude is nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, Whitman has spent tents of millions of dollars in her campaign, and is running on near saturation television ads."

CONNECTICUT: Former Republican Rep. Larry DeNardis announced Thursday that he'll seek the GOP nomination for governor, joining a primary field that includes former Ambassador to Ireland Tom Foley and Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele. DeNardis turns 72 next week.

NEW YORK: Developer Carl Paladino says he's moving ahead with a campaign for governor and he's prepared to spend $10 million of his own money to win the Republican nomination. "I've made a lot of money in my career, my family is taken care of, and I'm willing to spend up to $10 million on this," the first-time candidate explained.

MARYLAND: Tom Russell, who's managing Gov. Martin O'Malley's reelection campaign, told the Baltimore Sun that the first-term Democrat is "actually looking forward to" the possibility of a rematch against former GOP Gov. Bob Ehrlich. Russell said Ehrlich's "no Scott Brown" and "didn't do his job" during his single term as governor.

MICHIGAN: The Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council announced Thursday that they will support Democrat Andy Dillon for governor. The group's spokesman said Dillon "has stood shoulder to shoulder with Michigan workers" -- even though the candidate's relations with the broader labor community are viewed as weak.

TEXAS: U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, the former Dallas mayor who was the Democrats' last viable candidate for major statewide office in Texas, told POLITICO's Kendra Marr Thursday that he "may have paid just a little bit of attention" to the primary election in his home state this month. He offered this advice to former Houston Mayor Bill White's gubernatorial campaign: "Run hard, smile and ask for the vote."

2012:

NO BTO PUN HERE: Both Sarah Palin and Tim Pawlenty will appear at a Minneapolis fundraiser for Rep. Michele Bachmann's campaign on April 7.

STOOPING TO CONQUER: Also next month, Palin will testify against a Tennessee college student accused of hacking her email account during the 2008 presidential campaign. The defendant faces a four-count indictment that includes a charge of stealing Palin's identity.

About The Author

Alexander Burns is a senior political reporter for POLITICO. During the 2012 campaign, he co-authored POLITICO’s Burns and Haberman blog, which was widely recognized as one of the authoritative resources on the presidential election. Prior to that, Burns created the daily Morning Score political tip sheet and edited the POLITICO44 page. A graduate of Harvard College, where he edited the Harvard Political Review, Burns has appeared on television and radio as a political analyst and has been a guest speaker at New York University, the University of Kansas’s Dole Institute and the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics, among other schools.